Total enlightenment! Well it’s about time!
But what is it, this feeling of completeness, this experience of wholeness? What does it mean?
The first 7 limbs of yoga are hugely beneficial. By incorporating them into our everyday lives we might notice improvements in health and wellbeing, in our relationships with others, in our work. But all 7 limbs are firmly rooted in Maya, in the unreality of our perceptions (for more on Maya click here!). By themselves the first 7 limbs make yoga worth all the effort, but the ultimate goal, the raison d’etre of yoga is not all about better breathing, toned muscles and a stronger upper body, it’s about finding union and unleashing our true selves!
Woah! That’s huge. I don’t know about you readers, but even thinking about that possibility is rather nerve wracking. And there’s the thing. In many ways we are scared of letting go of who we are right now, or rather who we perceive ourselves to be right now. It’s OK to be a little freaked out by the concept, but really we shouldn’t worry. Most of us are not anywhere close enough to enlightenment to have to panic just yet, and when it does happen, it will happen slowly, bit by bit as we peel away layers of Kleishas (obstacles) and samskaras (positive and negative judgements) that currently rule our lives. Enlightenment will happen, but maybe not in this lifetime.
So rather than looking at the concept of Samadhi as some unfathomable goal that will never be reached in this lifetime, I prefer to look at is as a sum of the other 7 limbs of yoga. When everything is in perfect flow and we allow ourselves to be completely in the moment, a sense of bliss, a sense of peace, a sense of freedom can wash over us. That to me is Samadhi, even if it only lasts for a second or two. Samadhi is about finding a place of peaceful freedom in each day, a sense of satisfaction and bliss from ordinary life. When we can find that we have found our goal.
But like all goals we must keep striving. Just because we glimpse it one day does not necessarily mean we will glimpse it another day. We must be mindful, aware and conscious of our yogic path to continue to enjoy this sense of whole.
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Readers, I hope you have enjoyed this series of posts on the 8 limbs of yoga. I hope you have found ways to incorporate some of Patanjali’s teachings into your everyday lives and found a place of non-attachment, of letting go, maybe even of momentary bliss.
As always I welcome your feedback with open arms as well as any other ideas about what to post on Tuesdays now this is over!
Thanks for this series Rachel, I loved it! I have just finished reading the Yoga Sutras actually, and am still digesting them
I have really enjoyed the series- and I loved reading how you described each limb. I’ll definitely be referring back at different points of time.
Much thanks for doing this Rachel!
Very succinctly put, Rachel. I wrote a bit about Samadhi today and how I am nowhere near to it. I’m having a hard time writing these days . . . my thoughts aren’t flowing naturally. My inner landscape is changing drastically. While I do feel more peaceful, I can’t express it as eloquently as you!
I’m looking forward to the new class in september. I’m up for some samadhi action!!
This series was fantastic! I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to what you have next! You mentioned a few weeks back you were thinking of doing something with the doshas, and I’d love to read about them. The online quizes to ‘find your dosha’ all give me different answers, so I’d like to understand them better.
I also wanted to mention that I enjoyed the week of guest posts and how you interviewed each of them…I love to read about peoples yoga history. Plus I now have a few more blogs to read